Shaft lock for a food processing device



y 1955 A. B. BRADLEY $5,304

SHAFT LOCK FOR A FOOD PROCESSING DEVICE I Filed June 14, 1962 3Sheets-Sheet 1 ay 25, 1965 A. B. BRADLEY SHAFT LOOK FOR A FOODPROCESSING DEVICE Filed June 14, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

y 5, 1965 A. B. BRADLEY 3,185,304

SHAFT LOOK FOR A FOOD PROCESSING DEVICE Filed June 14, 1962 3Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,185,304 SHAFT LOQK FOR A F110!)PROCESSING DEVECE Addison Ballard 'Bradley, Racine, Wis, assignor toJohn Oster Manufacturing 130., Miiwaukee, Wis a corporation of WisconsinFiled June 14, 1962, Ser. No. 202,440 8 Claims. (Cl. 210232) Thisinvention relates to an improved shaft lock, and more particularly, toan improved shaft lock for electrically operated food processingattachments such as juicer attachments and the like.

In some prior art food processing devices such as juicer mechanisms, ithas been conventional to threadably mount a perforated juice extractingbasket or the like on the end of a drive shaft for rotating the basket.In order to disconnect the basket from the shaft, it is necessary tohold the shaft stationary. The same is true, of course, for mounting thebasket to the shaft. One conventional mode of locking the shaft againstrotation has been to provide aligned apertures in the shaft and its hubfor receiving a tool to fix the shaft and hub with respectto each other.Another expedient has comprised a spring biased pin or plunger which isadapted to enter the aligned apertures.

These prior art expedients of locking the shaft against rotation haveseveral disadvantages. Aside from the necessity of forming alignedapertures in a shaft and hub, it has also sometimes been necessary toform an aligned aperture in the housing of the mechanism in order toreach the shaft and hub. Utilizing a tool for insertion into the alignedapertures imposes the requirement of an accessory. The utilization of aspring biased pin or plunger also often requires that this extrastructure be mounted externally on the housing, and, therefore,comprises a projecting part on the otherwise clean or uncluttered outersurface of the housing.

In the invention, the improved shaft lock overcomes the above-discussedand other disadvantages of the prior art. This is to say, alignedapertures or a special tool such as a screwdriver for insertion into thealigned apertures is unnecessary. Also, the improved shaft lock ismounted on the food processing mechanism so as not to comprise anexternally projecting part but to make better utilization of theavailable space within the mechanism.

In the preferred'form of the invention, the shaft lock is mounted withina space provided between the hub of the drive shaft and a radiallyspaced mounting ring, collar or flange for the attachment. The shaftlock comprises a lever which can be pivoted towards and away from theshaft and also moved in a direction which is parallel to the axis of theshaft. The shaft is locked against rotation by the simple step of movingthe lever beyond the end of the hub and then swinging it into engagementwith the adjacent end of the shaft.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are setforth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself,however, both as to its organization and operation, together withfurther objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electricallyoperated juicer'attachment utilizing one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the line 2-2of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the sectionline 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

3,185,394 Patented May 25, 1965 FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken alongthe section line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View, in enlarged scale, taken along the sectionline 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a partly broken away enlarged bottom view of the juicerattachment; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the sectionline 8-8 of FIG. 7, assuming that the lever is in its shaft lockingposition.

Referring first to FIG. 1, illustrated therein is an electricallypowered juicer mechanism comprising an upper juicer attachment indicatedgenerally by reference numeral 1, and a lower electrical power packindicated generally by reference numeral 2. The power pack 2 comprisesno part of this invention and, therefore, will be only generallydescribed. Power pack 2 is currently available on the commercial marketfor driving juicer, ice crusher and blender attachments manufactured bythe assignee of the instant invention.

Referring also to FIG. 5, power pack 2 comprises an electric motorindicated generally by reference numeral 3, and a drive shaft 4 which isadapted to bekeyed to the juicer attachment shaft 5 in a manner whichwill be described in greater detail hereinafter. Power pack 2 isprovided with an on and off and speed control switch knob 6.

Mounted inside a generally cylindrical shaped casing 7 of the juicerattachment is a juice extracting perforated basket 8. The upper end ofshaft 5 is threaded, as indicated by reference numeral 9, and the bottomof basket 8 is provided with an internally threaded connector portion10. Accordingly, basket 8 is threadably connected to the upper end ofshaft 5. Shaft 5 rotates basket 8 and extracts juices and ejects pulpfrom fruits and vegetables by centrifugal action as is well understoodby those skilled in the art. The juices pour out of a juice spout 11,and the pulp is ejected out of a pulp ejecting spout 12. Although theshaft 5 is illustrated as driving basket 8, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that broadly the invention is alsouseful inconnection with other food processing members such as shredder andslicer discs driven by shaft 5 and threadably connected to shaft 5 inthe manner of basket 8 or otherwise such that the shaft 5 needs to befixed against rotation in order to connect and disconnect the foodprocessing members.

The cylindrical member 7 is provided with a bottom 13, which collectsthe juices passed through the perforated basket 8. In the vicinity ofthe spout 11, the bottom 13 is provided with an aperture 14 so that thecollected juices can pass from housing 7 into the spout 11. The spout 11is formed integrally with the housing 7. Housing 7 preferably is formedfrom a plastic material by molding.

The pulp ejecting spout 12 is formed integrally with a cover 15 for thecasing 7. The cover 15 also preferably is formed from a plastic materialby molding. Cover 15 is provided with a generally semi-cylindricalshaped feed chute 16. That is to say, fruits or vegetables which are tobe juiced are fed into the device through chute 16. The fruits or juicesare forced downwardly in chute 16 against the bottom of basket 8 by asemi-cylindrically formed plunger or the like 17 which is adapted toenter the chute 16.

The bottom 18 of basket 8 is provided with teeth 19 which comminute andmacerate the fruits and vegetables. Centrifugal force causes the juiceto pass through the apertures indicated generally by reference numeral20 formed in basket 8. Simultaneously centrifugal action causes the pulpto gradually work its way up along the side walls of basket 8 and thenejects it out through the spout12 of cover 15.

The bottom 13 of casing 7 has a centrally disposed aperture 21 formedtherein so the upper end of the vertically disposed shaft can beconnected to the basket 8. The shaft 5 is disposed in a hub. 22.. Ahearing sleeve 23 is provided in hub 22 for the shaft 5. The bearing 23is fixed in hub 22 as by a force fit therein. The shaft 5 is fixed inbearing 23 against movement in an axial direction. This is accomplishedby providing a collar 24 or the like on the upper end of shaft 5. Thelower end of shaft 5 isprovided with a circumferentially extendinggroove 25 which is adapted to receive a not shown spring washer or thelike for cooperation with the adjacent end of the bearing 23. In thismanner the shaft 5 is located in the bearing 23 against axial movement,however, it will be appreciated by those in the art that otherarrangements .can be utilized to accomplish the same end.

The juicer attachment 1 is mounted on the top of the power pack 2 byvirtue of a mounting ring or the like 26 disposed on the top of thehousing for power pack 2 and juicer attachment and adapted to bereceived within the mounting ring 26.

The inner surface of the ring 26 is provided With a slight taper, andring 28 has external tapered surfaces 29 formed thereon for cooperationwith the tapered surface of ring 26. The ring 28 is disposed inconcentric and radially outward spaced relationship with respect to thehub 22. The upper end of hub 22 and ring 28 are interconnected by anintegral web 30. 7

The space 31, see FIG. 5, is utilized as a chamber for mounting theshaft locking mechanism illustrated in detail in FIGS. 7 and 8 to bedescribed more particularly hereinafter.

The support and mounting structure comprising integral parts 22, 28 and30 for supporting the juicer attachment is connected to the juicerattachment by virtue of an integral external flange 32 formed thereonand a plurality of integral bosses 33 formed on the underside of thebottom 13. The flange 32 is connected to the bosses 33 by studs or thelike 34. When the ring 28 is positioned within the ring 26, the juicerattachment is retained on the power pack by the clamping structureillustrated in FIG. 6. The clamping structure comprises a plurality ofhooks or the like 35 connected to pivotally mounted levers 36. The hooks35 hook on to the ring 26 and are locked in position by upward pivotalmovement of the levers 36 to the position illustrated in FIG. 6. Thelevers 36 are pivotally mounted at their lower ends on brackets 37 whichare connected to the flange 32. The upper ends of hooks 35 have apivotal connection with the upper ends of levers 36, and when the levers36 are moved to to their up position the hooks 35 are tensioned slightlyto firmly clamp the mounting ring 28 within mounting ring 26.

The central aperture 21 .in bottom 13 is surrounded by a raised portion39 so as'to keep juices settling on the bottom 13 from working their wayinto the central bearing and shaft structure of the juicer attachment. Aseal 40 is additionally provided between the bottom 13 and the hub 22.This is for the purpose of preventing ingress of material into the spacebetween web 30 and bottom 13. A seal 41 between the flange 32 andhousing 7 is additionally provided for a similar purpose.

The cover 15 is sealed with respect to the casing 7 by virtue ofcooperative ledges or shoulders 42 and 43. The ledges 42 and 43 arefirmly engaged with each other by virtue of cooperative wedge portions44 and 45 formed on cover 12 and casing 7, respectively, as will beobvious to those skilled in the art. a Referring now also to FIGS. 7 and8, the hub 22 and ring 28 are also integrally connected with respect. toeach other by three ribs or the like 46 which are spaced with respect toeach other by about degrees. Disposed between two of the ribs 46 is anintegral boss 47 which depends from the web 30. The shaft lock ismounted on boss 47. The shaft. lock comprises a stud or pin 48 mountedin boss 7. Stud or pin 48 is for the purpose of pivotally and slidablymounting a shaft locking lever 49. The lever 49 can be swung towards andaway from the hub 22 in a plane which is perpendicular with respect toshaft 5. Also, lever 49 can be slid or shifted bodily in a directionwhich is parallel to the axis of shaft 5. The outer end of lever 49 ismounted on a sleeve 50 which is positioned on the stud or pin 48. Theupper end of sleeve 50 has an inturned flange 51 formed thereon, andtrapped between the flange 51 and the head 52 formed on stud or pin 48is a bias spring 53. Spring 53 continuously biases lever 49 bodily in anupward direction.

The lower endof shaft 5 which is positioned below the groove 25 has adiameter which is slightly larger than the main portion of shaft 5. Thislower portion of shaft 5 is supported by a bearing sleeve 54 which ispress fitted into the lower end of hub 22. Formed in the lower end ofshaft 5 is an axially extending blind bore 55. The shaft 4 of motor 3and the blind bore 55 are noncircular and provided with interlockableedges or portions so that when shaft 4 is positioned in blind bore 55the shafts 4 and 5 are engaged in drive relationship. For example, theshaft 4 has a square axialcross section, and the bore 55 has the crosssectional shape of an eight pointed star.

When it is desired to mount the basket 8 or some other food processingmember on the shaft 5, the levers 36 are first pivoted in a downwarddirection to release the hooks 35. Then the attachment can be lifted offthe power pack to afford access to the shaft locking mechanism locatedon the bottom of the attachment. The lever 49 is moved outwardly bodilyagainst its spring bias to a a position beyond the lower end of the hub22. Thereafter, the lever is swung to align its inner end with theadjacent exposed end of shaft 5. The inner end of lever 49 is providedwith an integral square-shaped olfset portion 56 which will enter theblind bore 55 to lock shaft 5 against rotation. The spring 53, ofcourse, continuously biases the lever 49 in an up direction so as toretain the portion 56 in the blind bore 55. With the shaft 5 lockedagainst rotation,the basket 8 or other food processing member can bemounted or demounted with respect to the upper end of shaft 5. Ofcourse, it will be understood that cover 15 must be removed from casing7 to expose the basket 8. Cover 15 is removed from casing 7 merely byturning it a short distance to disengage the wedges 44 and 45.

The lever 49 is normally held out of the way by a slot 57 formed in thelower edge of one of the adjacent ribs 46. That is to say, when thelever 49 is moved from the dotted line position to the full lineposition illustrated in FIG. 7, the spring 53 will bias the lever 49 forbodily movement in an up direction to cause the square portion 56 to bedisposed in the slot 57. In this disposition of lever 49 it is held outof the way and prohibited from rattling, jiggling or the like.

7 It will now be obvious that the invention makes it unnecessary toutilize the heretofore aligned shaft and hub apertures of the prior artfor locking the-shaft 5 fixed. It

'will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that if alignedapertures were utilized in the shaft and its hub, an aligned aperturewould also probably have to be utilized in the mounting ring or flange28. The invention also dispenses with the requirement for a tool such asa screwdriver for insertion into the aligned apertures, or a projectingspring biased pin or plunger on the juicer attachment for entering intothe aligned apertures. In the invention, instead of a projecting shaftlocking mechanism, the shaft locking mechanism is located in space 31.Additionally, the shaft lock is easy to operate merely by a simplemovement of the shaft locking lever 49. The device is free ofmalfunctioning due to jamming or the like inasmuch as it comprises aminimum number of uncomplicated parts. Additionally, the device is easyto operate since it is readily accessible and viewable to the operator.There is no danger of connecting the shafts 4 and 5 together in driverelationship when the shaft 5 is locked against rotation. This isbecause when the shaft is locked against rotation the portion 56 oflocking lever 49 is disposed in the bore 55 so as to block entry ofshaft 4 into the bore 55.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of theinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention, andthat it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. In combination, a shaft, a hub for rotatably sup porting said shaft,and a lock for locking said shaft against rotation, said shaft lockcomprising a lever which is pivotally mounted adjacent said hub forswinging movement toward and away from said hub in a plane perpendicularthereto, and means mounting said lever for movement bodily in adirection parallel to said hub and beyond one end thereof for engagementwith an exposed portion of the shaft adjacent thereto.

2. In the combination of claim 1, a pin, said lever being pivotally andslidably mounted at one end thereof on said pin, said pin being parallelto said hub, and a spring on said pin for biasing said lever in adirection opposite to the first-mentioned direction of movement.

3. In the combination of claim 2, wherein the end of the shaftcorresponding to said one hub end has a blind bore formed therein, andthe other end of the lever having a portion receivable in said bore,said bore and portion having interlockable edges formed thereon.

4-. In a food processing device comprising a vertical shaft and a foodprocessing member connected to the upper end of said shaft, a supportfor said device cornprising a hub for said shaft and an outer mountingring connected to said hub in spaced concentric relationship therewith,a shaft lock for fixing said shaft against rotation to facilitatemounting and demounting of said food processing member on said shaft,said shaft lock comprising a pivot pin mounted on said support parallelto said hub and a lever, an outer end of said lever being pivotally andslidably mounted on said pin, a spring on said pin biasing said leverfor sliding movement in a direction towards the upper end of said shaft,means on the inner end of said lever for interlocking with the lower endof said shaft when said lever is moved against its spring bias below thelower end of the hub and pivoted toward said shaft, and said shaft lockbeing positioned within the confines of said spaced ring and hub.

5. In a device as in claim 4, a blind bore formed in the lower end ofthe shaft, the inner end of the lever having an offset portionreceivable in said bore, and said bore and portion having interlockableedges formed thereon.

6. In a device as in claim 5, wherein said hub and ring areinterconnected by an integral radially extending rib, a notch in thelower edge of said rib, and said lever being receivable in said notchfor retaining said lever in nonlocking position.

7. In a device as in claim 6, wherein said offset portion comprises anintegral square shaped portion, and said blind bore having thecross-sectional shape of an eight pointed star.

8. In a juicer comprising a Vertical shaft and a perforate juiceextracting basket threadably connected to the upper end of said shaft, asupport for said juicer comprising an inner hub for said shaft, an outerspaced mount ing collar, and an integral web interconnecting the upperends of said hub and collar, and a shaft lock disposed in the spacedefined between said hub, collar and web, said shaft lock comprising adepending boss formed integrally with said web, a pivot pin mounted insaid boss, said pin extending parallel to said hub, a lever, an outerend of said lever being pivotally and slidably mounted on said pin, aspring on said pin biasing said lever for sliding movement toward theupper end of said shaft, and means on the inner end of said lever andthe lower end of said shaft which are interlockably engageable with eachother when said lever is moved down against its spring bias beyond thelower end of the hub and pivoted toward the shaft.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,586,246 5/26Kirchner et a1. -185 X 2,246,344 6/41 Calderwood 292-62 2,289,656 7/42Knapp 146-76 2,305,193 12/42 Reynolds et al 210-380 X 2,311,379 2/43Gillanders 146-76 2,343,327 3/44 Reynolds 210-380 X 2,351,330 6/44 Goetz210-380 X 2,440,425 4/48 Williams 146-76 X 2,460,555 2/49 VonVoigtlander 81-1779 X 2,481,010 9/49 Gundelfinger 146-76 2,757,696 8/56Billard 146-76 2,793,062 5/57 Fleming 292-62 X 2,902,185 9/59 Willwerth220-55 X 2,934,116 4/60 Dannenmann 146-76 2,971,649 2/61 Henzirohs210-380 X HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examine'r.

HERBERT L. MARTIN, ROBERT F. BURNETT,

Examiners.

1. IN COMBINATION, A SHAFT, A HUB FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID SHAFT,AND A LOCK FOR LOCKING SAID SHAFT AGAINST ROTATION, SAID SHAFT LOCKCOMPRISING A LEVER WHICH IS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID HUB FORSWINGING MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID HUB IN A PLANE PERPENDICULARTHERETO, AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID LEVER FOR MOVEMENT BODILY IN ADIRECTION PARALLEL TO SAID HUB AND BEYOND ONE END THEREOF FOR ENGAGEMENTWITH AN EXPOSED PORTION OF THE SHAFT ADJACENT THERETO.
 8. IN A JUICERCOMPRISING A VERTICAL SHAFT AND A PERFORATE JUICE EXTRACTING BASKETTHREADABLY CONNECTED TO THE UPPER END OF SAID SHAFT, A SUPPORT FOR SAIDJUICER COMPRISING AN INNER HUB FOR SAID SHAFT, AN OUTER SPACED MOUNTINGCOLLAR, AND AN INTEGRAL WEB INTERCONNECTING THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID HUBAND COLLAR, AND A SHAFT LOCK DISPOSED IN THE SPACE DEFINED BETWEEN SAIDHUB, COLLAR AND WEB, SAID SHAFT LOCK COMPRISING A DEPENDING BOSS FORMEDINTEGRALLY WITH SAID WEB, A PIVOT PIN MOUNTED IN SAID BOSS, SAID PINEXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID HUB, A LEVER, AN OUTER END OF SAID LEVERBEING PIVOTALLY AND SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIN, A SPRING ON SAID PINBIASING SAID LEVER FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT TOWARD THE UPPER END OF SAIDSHAFT, AND MEANS ON THE INNER END OF SAID LEVER AND THE LOWER END OFSAID SHAFT WHICH ARE INTERLOCKABLY ENGAGEABLE WITH EACH OTHER WHEN SAIDLEVER IS MOVED DOWN AGAINST ITS SPRING BIAS BEYOND THE LOWER END OF THEHUB AND PIVOTED TOWARD THE SHAFT.